Olga Guillot (born October 9, 1922 in Santiago de Cuba - died July 12, 2010… Read Full Bio ↴Olga Guillot (born October 9, 1922 in Santiago de Cuba - died July 12, 2010) was a famous Cuban singer who was known to be the queen of bolero. She was a native of the Cuban city of Santiago.

Guillot and her family moved to Ciudad Havana when she was a small child. As a teenager, she and her sister, Ana Luisa, performed as a duo, named the "Duo Hermanitas Guillot".
It wasn't until 1945 that her talent as a bolero singer would be discovered, when Facundo Rivero, an influential man in the Cuban music industry of the era, heard her sing for the first time, and helped her make her professional singing debut, at a famous Havana night club. Soon after, Guillot met Miguelito Valdes, who took her to New York city, where Guillot was able to record her first album, with the Decca label.

Guillot traveled to Mexico in 1948. There, she established herself as an international singer and actress, participating in various films and making her second album. In Mexico, Guillot began to enjoy much popularity for the first time in her career.

In 1954, she recorded her song "Mienteme" ("Lie to Me"), which became a hit across Latin America, and earned her three consecutive awards back home in Cuba as Cuba's best female singer.

1958 proved to be an important year for Guillot, as she toured Europe for the first time, including stops in Italy, France, Spain and Germany. She sang alongside the equally legendary Édith Piaf during a concert held in Cannes.

Olga Guillot kept a house in Cuba as she traveled around the world with her music, apart from her house in Mexico. But Guillot opposed Fidel Castro's Government, and, in 1961, she decided to leave Cuba for good and establish herself in Venezuela. Not long after that, she left Venezuela, making Mexico her only permanent residence country.

Meanwhile, she kept touring around the world, singing in places such as Israel, Japan, Hong Kong and many others. In 1963, Guillot was given the Golden Palm award as "best bolero singer of Latin America". She received the award in Hollywood, California. Guillot sang in 1964 at New York's famed Carnegie Hall.

Guillot continued on touring for the next forty years, releasing over fifty albums and winning numerous awards for her activity in the music world. She was very good friends with Celia Cruz, to whom she often referred to as "(her) sister". When Cruz died from cancer, Guillot was one of the most affected persons in the show business world.

Her albums and music are prohibited in Cuba. Guillot remained a quiet, but strong critic of Castro and his policies towards Cuban residents.

Guillot lived mainly in Mexico and had another home on Miami Beach, Florida.

On July 12, 2010, she died of an infarction at the age of 87 in the city of Miami Beach. She is survived by one daughter, Olga Maria Touzet-Guillot, born from her relationship with pianist and composer, René Touzet.

Sabor a Mi
Olga Guillot Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Tanto tiempo disfrutamos
de este amor
nuestras almas se acercaron
tanto así
que yo guardo tu sabor
pero tu llevas también
sabor a mí

Si negaras mi presencia
en tu vivir
bastaría con abrazarte
y conversar
tanta vida yo te di
que por fuerza tienes ya
sabor a mí

No pretendo ser tu dueña
no soy nada, yo no tengo vanidad
de mi vida doy lo bueno
yo tan pobre, qué otra cosa puedo dar

Pasaran más de mil años, muchos más
yo no sé si tenga amor la eternidad
pero allá, tal como aquí
en la boca llevarás
sabor a mí

No pretendo ser tu dueña
no soy nada, yo no tengo vanidad
de mi vida doy lo bueno
yo tan pobre, qué otra cosa puedo dar

Pasaran más de mil años, muchos más
yo no sé si tenga amor la eternidad
pero allá, tal como aquí

en la boca llevaras
sabor a mí

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Olga Guillot's song "Sabor a Mi" tell a story of a deep, unforgettable love. The first four lines describe the intensity of their connection, explaining that they have enjoyed this love for a long time and that their souls have become so close that the singer can still taste the flavor of their lover on their lips. However, the next two lines reveal that the lover also carries the singer's taste. The second verse speaks of not wanting to control their lover or have ownership over them. She explains that she is poor and can only give the best of herself, but hopes that her love's love for her is as eternal as her love for them. The last four lines repeat the powerful message that even if it has been over a thousand years, her lover will still carry the taste of her love in their mouth.

The lyrics of "Sabor a Mi" are poetic and contain strong imagery. They capture the bittersweet nature of love and the memory of loved ones in a visceral way. The song's arrangement is also very smooth and captures the romantic aura of the lyrics, making it one of the most memorable love songs in the Spanish-speaking world.

Line by Line Meaning

Tanto tiempo disfrutamos de este amor
We have enjoyed this love for so long

Nuestras almas se acercaron tanto así
Our souls came together so much

Que yo guardo tu sabor, pero tu llevas también sabor a mí
I have your flavor in me, but you also have mine

Si negaras mi presencia en tu vivir
If you denied me in your life

Bastaría con abrazarte y conversar
All it would take is to hug and talk

Tanta vida yo te di que por fuerza tienes ya sabor a mí
I gave you so much life that you have my flavor naturally

No pretendo ser tu dueña, no soy nada yo no tengo vanidad
I don't want to own you, I am nothing, I have no vanity

De mi vida doy lo bueno, yo tan pobre qué otra cosa puedo dar
I give the best of my life, being so poor what else can I give

Pasaran más de mil años muchos más
Thousands, even millions of years may pass

Yo no sé si tenga amor la eternidad
I don't know if love will last forever

Pero allá tal como aquí en la boca llevarás sabor a mí
But whether there or here, in your mouth you'll carry my flavor